Yatagarasu Series
Volume 4:
The Raven of the Empty Coffin
Author: Chisato Abe
Commentary by Omori Nozomi
The Matsumoto Seichō Prize has brought attention to talented historical fiction writers such as Mitsuji Iwai, Ken’ichi Yamamoto, Rin Hamuro, and Bunpei Aoyama. The sudden appearance of this prize, hosted by Bungeishunjū—a long-established literary publisher known for the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes—brought a revolution to the world of literary publishing.
Unlike fantasy newcomer awards or specialized labels aimed at the general public, this prize offers hardcover book publication as its reward. Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono, the first book in this series, received that prestigious treatment. The book, and indeed the series, are popular in Japan.
The Yatagarasu series, to which The Raven of the Empty Coffin belongs, has become firmly established in the genre of literary fantasy for adults in Japan. Following in the footsteps of other brilliant titles, the Yatagarasu series has become one of the most popular series in Japanese fantasy literature.
In recent years, masterpieces such as Ono Fuyumi’s The Twelve Kingdoms, Kayata Saho’s Delfinia War Chronicles, Uehashi Nahoko’s Guardian of the Spirit series, Ogiwara Noriko’s The Good Witch of the West, Suga Shinobu’s The Bloodshed Goddess, Yukino Sai’s The Story of Saiunkoku, Kanno Yukimushi’s The Snowy Mountains’ Shrine Maiden, and Inui Tomoko’s Aurielant’s Mage have been published one after the other. There’s a glut of good books in this genre, many of them recent.
Historically, the image of fantasy in Japan was heavily influenced by foreign works such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series, which helped establish the genre. Over the past quarter-century, Japanese high fantasy has rapidly developed, producing many notable works in Japanese.
The Yatagarasu series gained widespread popularity in June 2014, when the Bunshun Bunko edition of Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono was published. This event marked the beginning of the Yatagarasu series’ rapid success. The book sold so quickly that even the editor was surprised, saying, “What on earth is happening?”
The series appeals to a broad audience, including many readers who hadn’t previously read much fantasy. Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono also won the Matsumoto Seichō Prize, an unprecedented win in the history of the award. Traditionally, most winners of the award are older men, so it was a surprise—especially within the publishing industry—when the author, a twenty-year-old university student, won with a fantasy novel entry. This win also changed the image of the Matsumoto Seichō Prize, which had previously been associated with suspense, school stories, and speculative science fiction.
This series, which began with the award-winning debut novel Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono in June 2012, has now reached its fourth volume, The Raven of the Empty Coffin. The series continues to be popular in Japan.
In Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono, four noble ladies are summoned to Sakura Palace to compete to be the Crown Prince’s bride. The heroine, Asebi, is the second duchess of the Touke family. Each noble girl represents her family’s interests.
The duchess who winds up being the Crown Prince’s bride, Hamayū of Nanke, is beautiful (of course) and has a secret past. Her rivals include the spoiled, charming Masuho no Susuki of Saike, the petite, intense Shiratama of Hokke and the naïve but very beautiful Asebi of Touke. Even though the plot revolves around the Crown Prince choosing a bride, he rarely appears in the novel, and his decision is based more on politics than romantic feelings.
From the very beginning, the girls’ conversations are lively and psychologically comprehensible, quickly drawing the reader into another world. In the latter half of the novel, there are even more surprises and engaging developments. The setting reminds me of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but the story is unique. It also brings to mind Ken’ichi Sakemi’s award-winning Tales of the Inner Palace, as well as Eiichi Ikegami’s Ryukyu epic romance.
Yamauchi, the setting of this series, is governed by the Souke family, with four great noble families—Touke, Saike, Nanke, and Hokke—working under them. Yamauchi is divided into five regions, each ruled by one of these noble families. The people of Yamauchi are Yatagarasu—they can transform between human and raven forms.
Ravens Shouldn’t Wear Kimono is a political fantasy and mystery set in an alternate world ruled by the Yatagarasu. This first book introduces the world and characters, which are built upon in the second book, The Raven Does Not Choose its Master. This volume tells the story of what the Crown Prince was doing during the events of the first novel, where he rarely appeared. The book is full of surprises, with unexpected twists and plenty of mystery elements.
In The Raven Does Not Choose its Master, the relationship between the Crown Prince and Yukiya is the main focus. The relationship is similar to that shown in The Silence of the Nightingale and The Triumph of General Rouge by Takeru Kaido. The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master and its predecessor were originally a single volume, later split into two. These two books are designed to be completed as a set. The two books are like two sides of the same coin.
The first two books serve as a sort of prologue to the third, The Golden Raven, published in July 2014. The first two books are closely related and cover the same time period, but the third is a completely different animal. The Crown Prince and Yukiya investigate a shocking incident: ferocious giant monkeys from another world attack a remote village and devour Yatagarasu. Their investigation brings them closer to uncovering secrets about Yamauchi’s founding and the magic that keeps it safe from outside influence.
This series is known for surprising readers with new developments in each volume. The fourth book, The Raven of the Empty Coffin, published in July 2015, continues this tradition. The Keisōin, an elite all-boys military academy for fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds, serves as the setting. The school is reminiscent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series, but with a Japanese twist. If the first book was an all-girls fantasy, this one is an all-boys fantasy with a unique academy theme.
The story depicts harsh and unfair circumstances on top of the usual political intrigue. At its core are the friendships and growth of the academy’s cadets, including Akeru of Saike family (his sister, Masuho no Susuki, appeared in the first book), and Chihaya, who demonstrates genius-level skill in martial arts. There’s also Shigemaru, a commoner, and Yukiya, the protagonist who arrives at the Keisōin with a secret purpose. Yukiya and his peers confront the many challenges of the Keisōin.
The situation becomes even more tense when the Crown Prince’s enthronement ceremony is unexpectedly postponed. There are sharp social divisions between noble and commoner cadets as well as unreasonable favoritism from the faculty. The Crown Prince’s older brother, Prince Natsuka, is once again being pushed to become the next emperor by the influential Nanke family. Kimichika and his fellow cadets make waves in the academy on Prince Natsuka’s behalf, very much without his consent. Will the Crown Prince truly ascend as the next emperor? Is he a true Golden Raven, or something else?
One of the highlights of this book is the strategy games—simulations of real combat and past military campaigns. The novel is filled with fascinating details, and the battles, with their clever and unexpected strategies, are depicted with even more intensity than Quidditch in the Harry Potter series. These lively, back-and-forth confrontations are vividly portrayed.
Still, why did the author suddenly choose a school setting? It’s quite different from the other settings in the series. Chisato Abe has said in interviews that she’s enjoyed school stories since she was in elementary school. The skillful way the author weaves together the academy elements with the larger story of the Golden Raven’s succession is impressive. The Harry Potter series is an explicitly stated inspiration for this novel, though of course the Keisōin and Hogwarts are very different in focus and operation.
For those interested, I recommend reading the discussion and long interview about this novel in “Writers’ Reading Paths,” issue 176.
I first encountered Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in my second year of elementary school. My mother used to read it aloud to me, but I couldn’t wait and started reading it myself partway through. It took me a long time to finish, and by the time I had, the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was released. I wanted to read it as soon as possible.
My mother saw me sprint home from school to read a book and asked me, “If you love books that much, why not become a writer?” That was the first time I learned that being a writer was a real career. I never thought about pursuing any other job. From then on, I realized that something I’d always done for fun could become a job and that I could make a living from it.
Since middle school, I’ve been reading light novels—from Western-style otherworldly fantasy to Eastern-style otherworldly stories such as the Guardian of the Spirit series and The Twelve Kingdoms. After that, I read Ogiwara Noriko’s Jade of Sky-Color trilogy. Reading and writing books are my life’s passion.
In 2008, when Chisato Abe was a second-year high school student, she decided that, as a Japanese person, it would be best to write stories set in Japan. This led her to apply for various new writer awards.
The reason for choosing the Matsumoto Seichō Prize was that the guest speaker at her school’s anniversary ceremony was an editor. She approached the guest speaker—who happened to be an editor from Bungeishunjū and an alumna—and confided, “I want to become a writer, but I don’t know what to do.” The editor advised her, “If you’re truly serious, you should apply for the Matsumoto Seichō Prize.”
Chisato Abe completed Princess Tamayori and submitted it to the 15th Matsumoto Seichō Prize in 2009. In the “Talking About My Own Book” section of the “Writers’ Reading Paths” interview, the author explains, “While writing, I needed a word to express the mysterious world where the gods reside, and I chose ‘Yamauchi.’ For very simple reasons, really. The story is set in the mountains. The moment I typed it, I felt as if I’d struck diamonds in a mine. That’s what I think of as the very beginning of the Yatagarasu series. Everything took shape from there.”
Out of a total of 410 entries that year, eight works passed the second round of selection, including Princess Tamayori. The author felt a sense of accomplishment that encouraged her to continue pursuing a career as a writer. The winner that year was Kazuto Makimura’s Ada. The title was later changed. Other final candidates included Honjo Masato’s Nobody Knows and, in 2016, The Banquet of Miss Marth (published in the Bunshun Bunko edition as Roppongi Dead Heat).
As a fan of the Yatagarasu series, I feel excited and nervous about what’s to come. The first part of the series will end with the publication of the sixth volume, The Raven’s Flourishing, in the summer of 2017. I can’t help but wonder what kind of ending awaits us.
So far, there are five main novels in the series, but two collections of short stories have also been published. Not only are these episodes compelling in their own right, but they’re also well-crafted as standalone short stories.
For example, “Fuyuki’s Love Story,” published in the January 2017 issue of All Things Reading, depicts the fate of Fuyuki, the second daughter of the Lord of Hokke and Yukiya’s mother. For readers of the series, this is an unmissable tale. Another short story published in the July 2016 issue is about a marriage proposal arriving for Masuho no Susuki.
The fifth book, Princess Tamayori, complements the series as a whole. There are some unexpected surprises waiting for readers, but those are best enjoyed by reading the book itself.
In July 2016, a newly revised edition of Princess Tamayori was published, significantly rewritten from the original. This year marks the Yatagarasu series’ eighth birthday. The series comes full-circle with Princess Tamayori, which was the first-written novel set in Yamauchi’s world.
Translator's Note
Omori Nozomi is a translator, critic, and anthologist specializing in science fiction. He has translated works by such writers as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert A. Heinlein, and Philip K. Dick. In 2016, Nozomi founded the Genron Ohmori Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop.
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